How to apply for the foster child grant

The foster child grant is paid every month for each foster child. The amount is set in the national Budget, and older pages and news reports may give an old amount. Confirm the current amount with SASSA on 0800 60 10 11 or at your SASSA office.

Foster care comes first

A foster child is a child a children’s court has placed in your care. gov.za explains the steps before the grant:

1. Apply to foster the child at a Department of Social Development office or an accredited child protection organisation.
2. A social worker assesses you and the child and writes a report for the children’s court.
3. If the court finds that the child needs care and protection, it issues a court order that places the child with you. The order shows your name, the child’s name and how long the placement lasts.

Once you have the court order, you can apply for the grant at SASSA.

Who qualifies

SASSA’s grant booklet says you must:

• be a South African citizen, permanent resident or recognised refugee,
• live in South Africa with the foster child,
• have a valid court order that places the child in your care, and keep the child in your care, and
• care for a child who is not cared for in a state-funded institution.

You can’t get the grant for more than six foster children, unless the children are siblings or related to each other, or the court decides it is in the best interest of all the children.

The foster child grant is the only SASSA grant without a means test. Your income doesn’t count.

If the child is older or has a disability

• The grant ends at the end of the year in which the child turns 18. The provincial head of social development can let the young person stay in your care until the end of the year they turn 21, to finish grade 12, higher education, college, an internship or a learnership. The grant can then continue, and the decision goes to SASSA every year.
• A foster child with a severe disability may get the foster child grant and the care dependency grant at the same time. Your income as a foster parent is not counted for the care dependency grant either.

What to take with you

Take certified copies of your documents. SASSA’s booklet lists:

• your 13-digit barcoded ID, and your spouse’s if you are married,
• your Section 24 refugee permit, if you apply as a refugee,
• the foster child’s 13-digit birth certificate,
• the valid court order that places the child in your care,
• proof of your marital status,
• a bank confirmation letter or three months of statements for the account you want the grant paid into, which must be in your own name,
• proof of school attendance for a child aged 7 to 18, and
• proof that a child older than 18 is still at school or studying, if you ask for the grant to continue.

If you or the child don’t have an ID or birth certificate, gov.za says you can make a sworn statement on a SASSA form and bring proof that you applied at Home Affairs. The social worker can help you get the child’s birth certificate.

How to apply

1. Go to the SASSA office nearest to where you live with your documents and the court order.
2. Fill in the application form in front of a SASSA officer. Only you or a SASSA official may complete it.
3. Keep the receipt SASSA gives you. It is your proof that you applied.

After you apply

gov.za says it can take up to three months to process an application. If SASSA approves it, the grant counts from the date the court placed the child in your care, not the date you applied.

If SASSA can’t give you an outcome on the day, follow up at the office, call 0800 60 10 11 or email GrantEnquiries@sassa.gov.za.

If SASSA turns you down, it must tell you why in writing and how to appeal. Your appeal goes to the Independent Tribunal for Social Assistance Appeals, not to the Minister of Social Development. Appeal within 90 days of SASSA’s decision. The days count from the date of the decision, not from the day you hear about it, so don’t wait.

Ask a SASSA official to help you fill in the appeal form (Form 1). SASSA must send it to the tribunal within 15 days. You can also email your appeal to Grantappeals@dsd.gov.za. Include a copy of your ID and a copy of SASSA’s decision: the tribunal treats your appeal as lodged only once it has both. If more than 90 days have passed, you can still ask the tribunal to accept a late appeal on Form 2 and explain why you are late.

How you are paid

SASSA pays the grant into an active bank account in your own name. Children’s grants are paid after older persons and disability grants each month. How SASSA pays explains the payment order and where SASSA publishes the payment dates.

Keep the grant

• The court order runs for a set time. gov.za says SASSA reviews the grant when the order expires, and the booklet says to bring the extension order to the review. Extensions go through your social worker and the court, so speak to your social worker before the order ends.
• Tell SASSA if the child leaves your care, or if your address or phone number changes.
• Tell SASSA before you leave South Africa for more than 90 days.

Stay safe

Applying for foster care and for the grant is free. SASSA says it will never ask for your PIN. See how to spot SASSA scams.